Fanatics, a sports wagering platform, will be going live at the start of next year with plans to have a presence in more than 15 states by the next time the NFL kicks off. The company’s CEO Michael Rubin told Sports Business Journal that the plan was to take the mobile sportsbook live in January and aggressively expand from there.
Commentators and analysts have been anticipating Fanatics' sports betting entry for some time now.
Rubin commented: “We’ll be in every major state other than New York, where you can’t make money, by next football season. We do like to make money, by the way. It’s this crazy concept in business – where we have revenue, we try to have profits that follow it.”
Fanatics currently boasts a $20bn valuation and has turned itself into a merchandising juggernaut. Thanks to licensing deals with all four major US pro sports as well as the NCAA and MLS, Fanatics has positioned itself as the go-to marketplace for sporting fans gear and merch needs.
Furthermore, the company also has 48 brick-and-mortar stores globally, including stadiums and arenas across the country. But Rubin is not satisfied yet and wants the brand to grow bigger.
As well as sports betting and merchandising, Rubin is eyeing the fantasy sports and NFT space, hoping his company will be a one-stop digital shop for fans. Rubin commented: “I’ve been publicly saying I think those three businesses alone could be $8bn even in the next decade, which is a pretty massive number at the top. Profits, not revenue. So we’re really bullish.”
Despite his public penchant for brashness, Rubin does concede this will be a long-term effort – when BetFanatics does launch, it will be competing with huge operators who have been operating in the space for years now. Rubin conceives of a five-ten year plan to achieve all his goals.
Rubin further said: “Things don’t happen overnight. So I think in five years that’s where we’ll be, and we’ll do it on a very calculated basis. We’re not in a rush to do everything at once, because if you do that you screw it up.”
